Comparing ECUTEK to Cobb

[ill-legal?]

I'm trying to get a better understanding of how this works, so apologies in advance as I'm new to the VR30, the only platform I've ever dabbled with tuning in the past was a 2007 Subaru WRX STi. For that platform the path of least resistance is generally regarded as the Cobb Accessport, where you can run OTS or custom tunes. I see that they actually have some options for the Nissan GT-R, but from what I can tell they haven't done anything for the VR30. As I've been reading up on our Z cars the ECUTEK seems to be the top choice, but I'm not particularly familiar. One thing I liked about the Accessport was the ability to customize a display on the unit so I could keep an eye on various gauges of my choosing (boost, knock, etc) in real time, but if I understand correctly, the ECUTEK essentially consists of a hardware "plug" that attaches to the OBD-II port and you have kind of like a remote access or control via an app on your phone?

My main goals would be to tune for the shitty 91 octane I'm stuck with here in Arizona, to be able to monitor various info that we can't access via the dash gauges, help the car maybe stay cooler in the extreme heat of the summers here (this was mentioned as something that could be possible via tuning in another thread?), smooth out the acceleration curve a bit, and I wouldn't be mad if I could get some moderate performance gains without sacrificing reliability. I'm not trying to drag race or track the car, I don't have any plans at the moment to go crazy with additional modifications as it's my daily (at least for now) so reliability is a top priority.

If anyone has experience with both tuning options, would you mind providing a dumbed-down explanation of key differences? Any feedback on whether this route makes sense for the goals I have would be greatly appreciated as well, thanks!

 

[Gerwulf918]

I too had Cobb AP with my 2006 STI, so I will be watching this thread to find out what people with ecutek have to say

 

[thesilverbullet]

To get started, you can download the ecutek app on your phone to demo.

With it you can setup dashboards on your phone to display gages (engine parameters) realtime.

you can also change settings like boost, switch between 4 different custom tunes - 91 pump gas, 93 pump, E85, low boost, high boost, etc. The tuner can also customize the tune to allow changes to parameters that are not listed in the demo app. The same phone app is used to upload the tune, dataloging dyno pulls / street pulls for remote tuning. You can also make changes using the steering wheel controls without the phone connected.

so you have to find a tuner and they can custom tune to your needs. The tuner can do this remote via the phone app or in person. racebox is a member and one of the top ecutek tuners.

https://www.nissanzclub.com/forum/threads/racebox-5-year-anniversary-sale-limited.5315/post-107945

here’s a decent summary of features

https://www.z1motorsports.com/z1-pr...cutek-performance-tuning-package-p-43398.html

 

[VR30Z6spd]

the simplicity of ECUTEK wins over COBB, and the VR30 is not supportedby COBB and many from COBB users of VR38 GTRs made the switch to ECUTEK